Disclaimer: Characters not mine, just borrowing, etc, etc.
Author's Notes: Thanks for hanging in there with the story. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, if you get my drift. Also, as someone noted in a review, the last chapter's song was a verse from the Bible, but it was also turned into a very, very famous song in the 60's by the Byrds, which has been featured in almost every movie that takes place in this particular time period. I'm not a Christian, but I love the song. I think it speaks a universal Truth, rather than just a Christian one. On that note, enjoy the story;)
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Hey Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better. Hey Jude, don't let me down. You have found her, now go and get her. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better." -The Beatles
****
Peacecraft
April 9, 1969
The town hadn't changed much. To Hilde's utter amazement, it didn't bother her. What she had been fairly dying to escape four years earlier, she now came home to with open arms. This was the place of her birth; the happiest moments of her life had happened within its limits.
Here was where Duo lived. Here, hopefully, was the rest of her life.
She and Heero took two rooms at a local hotel; completely unbeknownst to Hilde, the same hotel in which Heero and Relena had held their all-too brief physical relationship. After checking in, Hilde retreated to her room to take a long shower. When she was dressed again, she knocked on Heero's door
He answered after a moment. "Are we going to Relena's now?"
Hilde ran her fingers through her freshly dried hair. "Heero...tell you what. Why don't you get some rest while I go out and...um...get us something to eat. What do you say?"
"Fine," Heero said. In retrospect, Hilde would realize that he agreed far too easily for a determined Heero Yuy who hadn't seen the woman he loved in three years.
But right then, Hilde was far too focused. She looked good. Her hair, which she had kept short all through her time in Vietnam, curled around her lightly made-up face. The striped mini-dress made her very aware of her hips and breasts...Duo's favorite things in the world.
She walked the whole way to Duo's parents' house; the route was still fresh in her memory. How many times had she snuck over to see him when his parents were either out or so drunk they were passed out? He had never said how much it all hurt him, but the way he had clung to her after they made love and silently cried on her shoulder had told her enough.
It only took ten minutes to reach the small, dilapidated house. The lights were on; Hilde gathered every bit of her courage, smoothed down her dress and knocked on the front door.
The door swung open a second later and Hilde came face to face with the greatest love of her life. He filled the doorframe with his jovial presence. His braid, still intact after all that time, lay over his shoulder. A box of cereal was in his hand.
He stopped cold the moment they made eye contact. Seconds ticked by like hours. Finally, Hilde spoke. "Hi, Duo. I'm home."
****
Heero waited five minutes, until he could no longer see Hilde walking away, before he grabbed his uniform coat and left the hotel room. It was hard to stay even those five minutes; the room brought back too many memories. He could actually close his eyes and remember Relena's face looking up at him with complete trust and love as he entered her for the first time. Everything about her was exquisite and he would only truly be healed once she was in his arms again.
He sorely missed his car as he walked the long path to the upscale section of town in which he and Relena had grown up together. He passed by his own house, only stopping for a second to look it over. His mother needed to have the news of his arrival broken to her easily; he would not show up on her doorstep right away. But Relena...
He needed to see her. His fingers itched from wanting to touch her. For so long, she had been a hazy fragment of his memories, jarred by months of torture and starvation. But she had been there, all along. A beacon through the worst hell imaginable. And he had no patience anymore.
After all, she was his girl. Yesterday, today and for the rest of his life.
****
For possibly the first instance in his entire life, Duo couldn't speak. Not that he could have thought of anything to say, anyway. Just looking at her after so long...it wiped every cool comment, every smooth line, any possibility of a joke right out of his mind.
She was beautiful. In high school, she had been the cutest thing ever. His pixie. But four years had turned cuteness into true, adult beauty. Four years, he repeated to himself. Four years without a word.
"Well..." he began, once his voice came back to him. "Welcome home, Prodigal Daughter."
Hilde looked down at her platform shoes. "I hoped you wouldn't be bitter, Duo."
He laughed as he dropped a handful of cornflakes into his mouth. "You hope for a lot."
"Duo...I'm so sorry I hurt you." Hilde looked up towards the evening sky, to hold back tears. "There are so many things I'm sorry for." He chewed and swallowed, but said nothing. "And you have every right to hate me, but right now I need to tell you..."
"I don't hate you, Hilde." Duo closed up his cereal box. "Maybe I did a little when my letters started coming back 'return to sender', but you know...you made your choice. And I wasn't it. I can't hate you for that."
Hilde shook her head, no longer fighting the tears. "You have no idea...the things that happened to me out there. But I still can't regret actually going, Duo. It was something I had to do!"
"I know. You had to get away from everything. From me. I don't hate you. You can have a clear conscience, okay?"
"It wasn't you, Duo." Hilde bit her full lower lip. "When I got out there and realized I wasn't star material....I couldn't face you. The letters that I got...God, I missed you so much. I just couldn't swallow my pride. I had no money, no jobs, and eventually, nowhere to live. I took drugs, Duo. I did things under their influence...don't you think I wished I could come home? It just wasn't that easy!"
Duo watched her carefully. "You could have always come home, Hilde. I was always here, waiting."
She wiped at her cheeks. "Then I got the job with the U.S.O. and I found myself in Vietnam. I stayed on to be a nurse and it finally seemed like my life was getting..."
"Wait, you went to Vietnam?" Duo cursed softly. "That's...wow. But you came back."
"Yeah," she whispered.
"Heero didn't." He swallowed. "Heero died over there, Hilde. God, there's so much you don't know. You think things happened to you? Try thinking about what happened to us, the ones who stayed behind! The last four years have been..."
"Duo." Hilde reached for his hand. "I have to tell you something. And you have to believe me."
He frowned. "What is it?"
"Heero. He's alive."
Duo blinked. After a moment, he shook his head. "Hilde, I don't know what you're playing, but..."
"Why would I lie, Duo? You say you don't hate me, but you'd suddenly believe that I would be so cruel as to tell a lie like this?" Hilde leaned in closer to him. "Heero is alive; he's here in Peacecraft with me."
"How did...?" Duo dropped his cereal box to run his fingers through his bangs. "Fucking A....Heero..." He glared at her. "What happened? How is that you...?"
Hilde smiled. "The biggest coincidence ever, Duo. But he is alive. He was held prisoner, tortured and he's come back from it all. And he wants to see Relena."
Duo stared back at her. "Relena is getting married tomorrow."
"I know." Hilde's expression was guilty. "I was the strange caterer that day. I didn't mean to lie, but I just couldn't tell you all of this on the phone."
"Does Heero know about the wedding?" he asked. She shook her head. "Fuck! What a mess!" He sighed and thought for a minute. "I should tell him. I'm the one who was here for it all. Where is he?"
"At the hotel room. He wanted to go see Relena right away, but I told him to..."
Duo slapped his forehead. "You left him alone?! You do realize that he's halfway to Relena's house by now, right?" Duo grabbed the doorknob and stepped onto the porch, locking up the house. "C'mon. If we hurry, we'll get there before Relena passes out."
****
"Quatre, isn't there a rule about not calling your bride on the night before the wedding to bug her about the flowers?" Relena cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she pulled up the sleeves of her wedding dress. "What am I doing?" she repeated his question. "I'm trying on my dress to make sure I haven't gained a pound in the last two days. Yes, you might think that's silly, but you're not trying to fit into white silk, are you?" She laughed at his response. "I'm not so sure it's your style." There was a knock at the door from downstairs. Relena cupped a hand over the receiver. "Can someone get that? I'm not completely dressed. Millardo?"
"I've got it," she heard Lucrezia call out as she descended the stairs.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, the flowers. Don't worry about them. The corsages for the tuxes will delivered to the house before ten tomorrow morning. They promised me. Of course I trust them, and you should too." Performing a juggling act, Relena managed to zip up her dress and keep the phone to her ear. "That was the zipper of my dress," she explained when he inquired after the noise. "It's beautiful." Relena blushed. "You say that when I'm wearing paisley," she said after a moment.
"Relena..." Millardo's voice was muffled through her bedroom door. "Can you come out here for a minute?"
She sighed. "Quatre, I have to go. No, you can't come over later; don't even think it! I'm warning you...." Relena smiled. "Yeah, me too. Goodnight." She set the phone down with a click and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The dress had a high waistline and long skirt with elbow length sleeves, each ending in a pleated fall of sheer material . With her hair down and flowing underneath her veil, the picture she presented was almost perfect.
Millardo knocked again. "Relena, you really need to come here. Now."
Relena shook her head. "I'm coming." After removing only her veil, Relena opened the door. Millardo's face was solemn, but it didn't throw her off. He used to have that look all the time. "What's going on?"
He steered her towards the stairs. "Relena...I want you to take a really deep breath. This is going to be hard to take in and I want to make sure..."
She frowned. "Millardo, I'm sure that whatever it is, I can handle it. I've been putting together a wedding for three hundred of the Winner's closest..." As she reached the bottom of the staircase, Relena's entire body went instantly numb. Her throat closed up.
In the foyer, donned in full military dress uniform, his hair as long and thick as it had been before boot camp, looking up at her with piercing Prussian eyes, was Heero Yuy. Back from the dead.
He was the one to catch her when she fainted a moment later.
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: Thanks for hanging in there with the story. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, if you get my drift. Also, as someone noted in a review, the last chapter's song was a verse from the Bible, but it was also turned into a very, very famous song in the 60's by the Byrds, which has been featured in almost every movie that takes place in this particular time period. I'm not a Christian, but I love the song. I think it speaks a universal Truth, rather than just a Christian one. On that note, enjoy the story;)
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Hey Jude, don't be afraid. You were made to go out and get her. The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better. Hey Jude, don't let me down. You have found her, now go and get her. Remember to let her into your heart. Then you can start to make it better." -The Beatles
****
Peacecraft
April 9, 1969
The town hadn't changed much. To Hilde's utter amazement, it didn't bother her. What she had been fairly dying to escape four years earlier, she now came home to with open arms. This was the place of her birth; the happiest moments of her life had happened within its limits.
Here was where Duo lived. Here, hopefully, was the rest of her life.
She and Heero took two rooms at a local hotel; completely unbeknownst to Hilde, the same hotel in which Heero and Relena had held their all-too brief physical relationship. After checking in, Hilde retreated to her room to take a long shower. When she was dressed again, she knocked on Heero's door
He answered after a moment. "Are we going to Relena's now?"
Hilde ran her fingers through her freshly dried hair. "Heero...tell you what. Why don't you get some rest while I go out and...um...get us something to eat. What do you say?"
"Fine," Heero said. In retrospect, Hilde would realize that he agreed far too easily for a determined Heero Yuy who hadn't seen the woman he loved in three years.
But right then, Hilde was far too focused. She looked good. Her hair, which she had kept short all through her time in Vietnam, curled around her lightly made-up face. The striped mini-dress made her very aware of her hips and breasts...Duo's favorite things in the world.
She walked the whole way to Duo's parents' house; the route was still fresh in her memory. How many times had she snuck over to see him when his parents were either out or so drunk they were passed out? He had never said how much it all hurt him, but the way he had clung to her after they made love and silently cried on her shoulder had told her enough.
It only took ten minutes to reach the small, dilapidated house. The lights were on; Hilde gathered every bit of her courage, smoothed down her dress and knocked on the front door.
The door swung open a second later and Hilde came face to face with the greatest love of her life. He filled the doorframe with his jovial presence. His braid, still intact after all that time, lay over his shoulder. A box of cereal was in his hand.
He stopped cold the moment they made eye contact. Seconds ticked by like hours. Finally, Hilde spoke. "Hi, Duo. I'm home."
****
Heero waited five minutes, until he could no longer see Hilde walking away, before he grabbed his uniform coat and left the hotel room. It was hard to stay even those five minutes; the room brought back too many memories. He could actually close his eyes and remember Relena's face looking up at him with complete trust and love as he entered her for the first time. Everything about her was exquisite and he would only truly be healed once she was in his arms again.
He sorely missed his car as he walked the long path to the upscale section of town in which he and Relena had grown up together. He passed by his own house, only stopping for a second to look it over. His mother needed to have the news of his arrival broken to her easily; he would not show up on her doorstep right away. But Relena...
He needed to see her. His fingers itched from wanting to touch her. For so long, she had been a hazy fragment of his memories, jarred by months of torture and starvation. But she had been there, all along. A beacon through the worst hell imaginable. And he had no patience anymore.
After all, she was his girl. Yesterday, today and for the rest of his life.
****
For possibly the first instance in his entire life, Duo couldn't speak. Not that he could have thought of anything to say, anyway. Just looking at her after so long...it wiped every cool comment, every smooth line, any possibility of a joke right out of his mind.
She was beautiful. In high school, she had been the cutest thing ever. His pixie. But four years had turned cuteness into true, adult beauty. Four years, he repeated to himself. Four years without a word.
"Well..." he began, once his voice came back to him. "Welcome home, Prodigal Daughter."
Hilde looked down at her platform shoes. "I hoped you wouldn't be bitter, Duo."
He laughed as he dropped a handful of cornflakes into his mouth. "You hope for a lot."
"Duo...I'm so sorry I hurt you." Hilde looked up towards the evening sky, to hold back tears. "There are so many things I'm sorry for." He chewed and swallowed, but said nothing. "And you have every right to hate me, but right now I need to tell you..."
"I don't hate you, Hilde." Duo closed up his cereal box. "Maybe I did a little when my letters started coming back 'return to sender', but you know...you made your choice. And I wasn't it. I can't hate you for that."
Hilde shook her head, no longer fighting the tears. "You have no idea...the things that happened to me out there. But I still can't regret actually going, Duo. It was something I had to do!"
"I know. You had to get away from everything. From me. I don't hate you. You can have a clear conscience, okay?"
"It wasn't you, Duo." Hilde bit her full lower lip. "When I got out there and realized I wasn't star material....I couldn't face you. The letters that I got...God, I missed you so much. I just couldn't swallow my pride. I had no money, no jobs, and eventually, nowhere to live. I took drugs, Duo. I did things under their influence...don't you think I wished I could come home? It just wasn't that easy!"
Duo watched her carefully. "You could have always come home, Hilde. I was always here, waiting."
She wiped at her cheeks. "Then I got the job with the U.S.O. and I found myself in Vietnam. I stayed on to be a nurse and it finally seemed like my life was getting..."
"Wait, you went to Vietnam?" Duo cursed softly. "That's...wow. But you came back."
"Yeah," she whispered.
"Heero didn't." He swallowed. "Heero died over there, Hilde. God, there's so much you don't know. You think things happened to you? Try thinking about what happened to us, the ones who stayed behind! The last four years have been..."
"Duo." Hilde reached for his hand. "I have to tell you something. And you have to believe me."
He frowned. "What is it?"
"Heero. He's alive."
Duo blinked. After a moment, he shook his head. "Hilde, I don't know what you're playing, but..."
"Why would I lie, Duo? You say you don't hate me, but you'd suddenly believe that I would be so cruel as to tell a lie like this?" Hilde leaned in closer to him. "Heero is alive; he's here in Peacecraft with me."
"How did...?" Duo dropped his cereal box to run his fingers through his bangs. "Fucking A....Heero..." He glared at her. "What happened? How is that you...?"
Hilde smiled. "The biggest coincidence ever, Duo. But he is alive. He was held prisoner, tortured and he's come back from it all. And he wants to see Relena."
Duo stared back at her. "Relena is getting married tomorrow."
"I know." Hilde's expression was guilty. "I was the strange caterer that day. I didn't mean to lie, but I just couldn't tell you all of this on the phone."
"Does Heero know about the wedding?" he asked. She shook her head. "Fuck! What a mess!" He sighed and thought for a minute. "I should tell him. I'm the one who was here for it all. Where is he?"
"At the hotel room. He wanted to go see Relena right away, but I told him to..."
Duo slapped his forehead. "You left him alone?! You do realize that he's halfway to Relena's house by now, right?" Duo grabbed the doorknob and stepped onto the porch, locking up the house. "C'mon. If we hurry, we'll get there before Relena passes out."
****
"Quatre, isn't there a rule about not calling your bride on the night before the wedding to bug her about the flowers?" Relena cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she pulled up the sleeves of her wedding dress. "What am I doing?" she repeated his question. "I'm trying on my dress to make sure I haven't gained a pound in the last two days. Yes, you might think that's silly, but you're not trying to fit into white silk, are you?" She laughed at his response. "I'm not so sure it's your style." There was a knock at the door from downstairs. Relena cupped a hand over the receiver. "Can someone get that? I'm not completely dressed. Millardo?"
"I've got it," she heard Lucrezia call out as she descended the stairs.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, the flowers. Don't worry about them. The corsages for the tuxes will delivered to the house before ten tomorrow morning. They promised me. Of course I trust them, and you should too." Performing a juggling act, Relena managed to zip up her dress and keep the phone to her ear. "That was the zipper of my dress," she explained when he inquired after the noise. "It's beautiful." Relena blushed. "You say that when I'm wearing paisley," she said after a moment.
"Relena..." Millardo's voice was muffled through her bedroom door. "Can you come out here for a minute?"
She sighed. "Quatre, I have to go. No, you can't come over later; don't even think it! I'm warning you...." Relena smiled. "Yeah, me too. Goodnight." She set the phone down with a click and stared at her reflection in the mirror. The dress had a high waistline and long skirt with elbow length sleeves, each ending in a pleated fall of sheer material . With her hair down and flowing underneath her veil, the picture she presented was almost perfect.
Millardo knocked again. "Relena, you really need to come here. Now."
Relena shook her head. "I'm coming." After removing only her veil, Relena opened the door. Millardo's face was solemn, but it didn't throw her off. He used to have that look all the time. "What's going on?"
He steered her towards the stairs. "Relena...I want you to take a really deep breath. This is going to be hard to take in and I want to make sure..."
She frowned. "Millardo, I'm sure that whatever it is, I can handle it. I've been putting together a wedding for three hundred of the Winner's closest..." As she reached the bottom of the staircase, Relena's entire body went instantly numb. Her throat closed up.
In the foyer, donned in full military dress uniform, his hair as long and thick as it had been before boot camp, looking up at her with piercing Prussian eyes, was Heero Yuy. Back from the dead.
He was the one to catch her when she fainted a moment later.
****
To Be Continued